Financial advisors deal with highly sensitive client data, and most AI tools require sharing that data with third-party platforms—an immediate red flag in a trust-driven sector.
Knapsack saw an opportunity to change that.
Their product rapidly took shape, but the first iteration of their website reached its peak.
At first, all they needed was a simple Webflow site—just enough to introduce their vision and let early adopters download the beta. But as Knapsack gained traction, there were more important things the website needed to consider:
- Trust is everything. Financial advisors won’t try a tool unless they’re 100% confident in its security and credibility.
- First impressions matter. The website needed to reflect authority, reliability, and professionalism—not a scrappy startup.
- Growth requires the right foundation. Knapsack’s lean team needed a website they could easily manage on their own (without a developer intervening for every update).
Webstacks partnered with Knapsack to transform their website from a basic landing page into a growth-ready platform—one that built trust, enabled marketing initiatives, and brought their bold identity to life.
Earning Trust in an Industry That Demands It
Knapsack was built to give financial professionals the power of AI without ever sacrificing privacy—no data retention, no exposure, just powerful automation that works securely in their own environment.
To gain trust in this highly regulated industry, the website needed to reflect Knapsack’s commitment to security.
"This only works if people have full confidence that we’re good stewards of their data. They need to understand that our private AI approach means zero data retention."
First Impressions Matter
The original two-page Webflow site introduced the product, but it didn’t instill confidence. Visitors had to dig to understand how the private AI model worked, and there weren’t enough signals reinforcing security and compliance.
With a refined digital presence, Knapsack’s website now reinforces credibility, security, and professionalism right from the first touchpoint.
- Clarifying the private AI model – Messaging and visuals make it clear how Knapsack protects user data without retention or exposure.
- Building trust signals throughout the site – Case studies, testimonials, and industry partnerships strengthen legitimacy and credibility.
- Optimizing the user journey – A restructured navigation and clearer CTAs guide visitors through key product benefits, making adoption more intuitive.
Branding That Stands Out in a Crowded AI Market
Most AI companies lean into the same futuristic aesthetic—glowing interfaces, abstract data patterns, and heavy doses of dark gradients. Knapsack took a different route.
Rather than blending in with the typical AI branding, they embraced an outdoor-inspired identity. The “knapsack” metaphor became central to their story—reinforcing the idea that their AI helps users carry and protect their data, just like a physical knapsack. This approach created a visual identity that felt both trustworthy and refreshingly distinct in a space crowded with lookalikes.
Refining the Brand Through the Vignette Process
To bring this vision to life, Webstacks led Knapsack through a vignette process—an iterative branding workshop that allowed them to explore multiple creative directions before landing on the strongest concept.
The result spanned much further than the website. The typography, colors, and illustration style became foundational elements used across their marketing, pitch decks, and product design. By taking a structured, strategic approach to branding, Knapsack emerged with a design language that set them apart and reinforced the trust-first nature of their product.
“The design language is as much of a product as the website itself. We now use it across investor and client pitch decks, marketing collateral, and even conference materials. It gave us a consistent, professional identity we can carry everywhere.”
A Website That Works for Marketing—Not Against It
Knapsack’s original Webflow site served its purpose in the company’s early days, but as the team’s ambitions grew, so did its limitations.
A CMS Built for Growth
Rather than forcing marketing to work around technical roadblocks, Knapsack needed a CMS that worked for them. Webstacks guided the transition to Sanity, giving their team:
- The ability to update content without engineering support.
- A structured framework that evolves alongside Knapsack’s products.
- Modular content management for quickly testing, refining, and optimizing.
The website is no longer a static asset—it’s a dynamic tool that evolves alongside the business.
"We wanted a site we could update without constantly relying on engineers. Webstacks built templates for us that look very good, and so we can't f— it up. So basically, we can mess around with all the text and graphics, but we have some level of confidence that it'll look good when we’re finished. That was really important for us because as a lean team, we don’t have time to deal with technical issues or second-guess every change."
Conclusion
With a small team, every system they put in place needs to be scalable. That’s why Webstacks helped Knapsack build a flexible, structured CMS that makes it easy to expand as their platform grows. Whether it’s new product pages, an evolving marketplace for AI agents, or scaling content marketing efforts, Knapsack now has the foundation to support it all.
Their investment in the website is a core part of their product-led growth strategy. As financial professionals look for ways to integrate AI into their workflows, Knapsack’s website serves as both an educational hub and an entry point for adoption.
By treating the website as a product—not just a static site—Knapsack built a foundation that will scale with them, not hold them back. Too often, fast-growing AI companies launch with a short-term web presence, only to face mounting technical debt and limitations as they expand. Knapsack avoided that trap, building a website that meets today’s needs while remaining flexible enough to grow alongside the business without costly overhauls down the road.
